Did North Korea Fire CRBMs Deployed to the Front Line for Mass Launches? [Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club]

Joint Chiefs: Short-Range Ballistic Missiles Flew 240km
Potential Threat as Up to 1,000 Missiles Could Be Launched Simultaneously

On the morning of April 8, at approximately 8:50 a.m., North Korea launched several ballistic missiles into the East Sea from the Wonsan area. The missiles are presumed to be close-range ballistic missiles (CRBMs).

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, reported in August 2024 that "a handover ceremony for the new tactical ballistic missile weapon system was held," stating that "the ceremony for delivering 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers produced by important military-industrial enterprises to the front-line economic units of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was held in the capital, Pyongyang." Photo by Rodong Sinmun

The Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that at around 8:50 a.m. on this day, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles from the vicinity of Wonsan toward the East Sea, with a flight distance of about 240 kilometers. The short-range ballistic missiles fired are believed to be CRBMs, which North Korea first test-launched in April 2022. The United States has designated this missile with the code name KN-35. North Korea's CRBM closely resembles South Korea's tactical surface-to-surface guided weapon KTSSM, which is capable of precision strikes, and is therefore also referred to as the "North Korean version of KTSSM."

South Korea and the United States assess that North Korea has deployed hundreds of transporter erector launchers (TELs) for the KN-35 along the front lines, and are conducting intense surveillance. In fact, North Korea, under the supervision of State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un, held a handover ceremony for new tactical ballistic missile launchers and announced that these launchers would be deployed on the front line facing the border with South Korea.

Given that each CRBM launcher is equipped with four launch tubes, a simple calculation suggests that North Korea could mount a maximum salvo of up to 1,000 missiles. In particular, these missiles fly at a low altitude of less than 30 kilometers and cover a relatively short range of around 150 kilometers, making detection and interception difficult for South Korea and the United States. There are also concerns that if multiple CRBMs are launched "low and short," it may be difficult to effectively intercept them.

The National Intelligence Service also stated during a session of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee that North Korea's 250 CRBMs "can fly about 610 kilometers and could potentially reach the Chungcheong region."

At the time, the National Intelligence Service explained, "North Korea publicly revealed 250 new CRBM launchers through the media," adding that there were reports suggesting Kim Jong Un was preparing to be ready to attack South Korea at any time. The NIS also responded to committee members' questions about whether North Korea could secure enough missiles to arm 250 launchers with four missiles each by stating, "Given North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia, and the fact that it provides weapons to Russia, there are questions as to whether it would be difficult for North Korea to procure such a quantity of missiles."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.